Whether you're racking up tuition fees now or still paying student loans after graduation, you know one thing is for sure: College is expensive. To make matters worse, the spending doesn't end at a semester of classes -- there's books that need to be purchased as well, and they're worth more than a little bit of pocket change.

But if you're going to school in California, a bit of relief has finally come your way in the form of two bills: SB 1052 and SB 1053.

Both bills, which were crafted by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), will allow California college students to download up to 50 core textbooks for free in the form of e-books. The e-books are for lower-division courses and are for classes at the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges.

More specifically, SB 1052 allows for the development of the e-books and the creation of the California Open Education Resources Council for e-book approvals. SB 1053 has developed the California Digital Open Source Library to store the new e-books.

"Many students are paying more than $1,000 every year on their textbooks, sometimes having to choose between buying the books they need or paying for food and other living expenses," said Steinberg.

The new e-book bills were signed by Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday. They are expected to go into effect starting in the 2013-14 school year.

Digital textbooks are certainly becoming the new way of learning in institutions around the globe. This new form of educational offerings was further boosted by Apple earlier this year, who released iBooks 2 and iBooks Author that allow for the creation of digital textbooks and makes them available for purchase on the iPad.

And some people wonder why so many cities in California have declared bankruptcy in the last 12 months and so many others are on the edge. The way this article is titled is informative. How about instead: "Taxpayers forced to pay for free text books for students". Government doesn't create wealth. We do. I know that is hard to understand given our government's propensity for printing money. Wake up, people. Every "do gooder" program, including war, increases government power and decreases the power of the individual. Use your brains. I know you have been programmed by government schools for at least 12 years to not question the State so I understand your desire to leap to the State's defense as if I'm speaking blasphemy. I understand your desire to pray to the State to fix all problems by creating laws. I understand your desire to pray to the State to smite your enemies. I wish I knew what words to say to help you see, to help you open your eyes and wake.